


Surprise Lesson

by Inuy21



Series: Voltron Legendary Defender [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Awkward Keith, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, Wingman Shiro, a bit of rivarly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-12-11 04:01:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11706396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inuy21/pseuds/Inuy21
Summary: AU! Keith finally makes it back to the library only to find that Shiro has been holding a vital piece of information back about Lance.(Takes place after "Study Break")





	Surprise Lesson

**Author's Note:**

> This was done for the August Challenge. Day 4: Something you don’t ship
> 
> This was also done for a prompt: Teach me how to play.

It’d been a month—a hellish month that had kept him busy and away from the library. Keith cursed as he walked down the street, backpack slung over his shoulders and phone vibrating in his pants’ pocket. Carefully reaching in and pulling the device out, Keith rolled his eyes as he saw the message: Where are you?! You need to be here NOW!

“Working on it, Shiro,” Keith muttered to himself as he dodged the few people on the sidewalk as his feet picked up speed. 

Just another corner and he would be there. Keith’s heart beat a little faster as Lance’s face flashed in his mind. Yes, he was finally going to have another chance to talk to the man…if he could think of anything to say and not make an ass of himself. Keith groaned as the library came into view. 

His hand gripped the phone that he had never put away. His mind argued that he should text Shiro back, ask for some advice, but that would be pointless since Shiro was working—was supposed to be working. As he entered the building, Keith took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself. 

“Upstairs, conference room 3.”

Keith jumped, startled at the whispered words then turned a glare on his friend. Shiro looked far too serious and a little panicked. What the hell was going on?! 

“You told me he was here until noon. What’s the big rush?” Keith asked as he rolled his shoulders from the weight of his backpack and tried not to let Shiro’s emotions infect him. It was barely past ten so what was the problem?

“Well, he has this group that gets together to play chess,” Shiro started as he shoved Keith towards the stairs. “And no one else has shown up yet. So I don’t know how long Lance will hang around.”

Keith groaned, digging his heels into the floor instead of letting Shiro guide him. “Chess, Shiro?” he whispered in an agitated tone. When Keith received an innocent smile, he complained, “You did this on purpose, Takashi!” 

Shiro stopped directing Keith and gave his friend an offended look. “Ouch, Keith, was that really necessary? I’m only trying to help, but if you don’t want it, then you could have said something earlier.”

“I told you I didn’t want your help,” Keith growled, his shoulders tensing as anger radiated through his muscles. “From the very beginning…”

Shiro raised a hand to stop his friend’s rant. “Yet if it wasn’t for me you wouldn’t have met him, let alone talked to him. So you’re welcome,” Shiro ended in a near hiss. “But I can tell when I’m not wanted.” He put a hand on Keith’s shoulder and put on a polite smile. “So good luck on your quest, my friend.”

With that Shiro walked off, back behind the main desk to do whatever it was his job required. Keith fumed, his nostrils flaring with each breath as he narrowed his eyes in the direction Shiro had gone. As he adjusted the bag on his back, Keith realized he was wasting valuable time. So calming himself down, he turned to the stairs and took them as fast he dared. 

Once upstairs, he stopped to take a breath and look around. Shiro had said conference room 3, right? Keith started walking, focusing his attention on the plaques outside the rooms instead of what was inside of them. So when he finally found the right room, he was surprised when he looked up to find Lance with a frown on his face as he moved chess pieces around the board in front of him. 

Keith cleared his throat, rapped his knuckles on the doorjamb and said, “Care for some company?”

Lance’s head shot up, the chess piece in his hand sliding across the board and knocking several other pieces off in the process. Then a wide grin spread across his lips as he saw Keith. 

“Sure. Come in, sit down.” A light brown hand motioned him in then leaned over to pat the table top across from him. “I was just practicing, hoping someone would show up soon.”

Keith gave a slight nod as he slung the backpack off his shoulders and onto the floor. “Would you, uh, mind teaching me how to play?” He tried to keep the blush from rushing up, but when Lance looked at him with a crooked eyebrow it was useless. 

“You’ve come to the right place, Keith…right?” Lance asked with a smile as he started to reset the board. 

“That would be correct, Lance,” Keith answered, a smile tipping one side of his lips up. “So, uh, what is this all about?” When Lance gave a questioning look, Keith said, “Is this like a chess club or something?” He looked around the room and at the multiple chess boards that were sitting on the tables. 

“Ah. Yeah, I guess.” Lance shrugged, setting the last piece in its place. “I was hoping to get more people my age into the game, but instead I found a group that just enjoys playing. It was unexpected but appreciated, and then I was the one being taught how to play better,” he said with a light laugh. 

“Couldn’t you, like, read a book or something to teach yourself more moves?” Keith asked genuinely curious. He knew there were tutorials for just about everything nowadays, so it couldn’t be that hard to find something on chess. 

Lance laughed a little louder this time, pulling out his phone. Keith watched as long fingers slid across the screen, taking them to whatever it was Lance was going to show him. A few seconds later, the phone was being held out to him and Keith gingerly took it. 

“You can’t beat experience. Believe me, I’d read all kinds of tutorials and books on how to win or out-maneuver your opponent but it did me no good against them.”

Keith looked down at the phone in his hands. On the screen was a picture of Lance surrounded by a handful of older men. They were all smiling, some more than others, but the joy was still there in their eyes. With one last look at the picture, Keith handed the phone back to its owner. 

“Seems like a nice group,” Keith commented. He hated small talk, but he wanted to get to know Lance better and so the torture was necessary. 

“Yeah, they’re great.” A frown slanted his brows. “I hope nothing bad happened to keep them away.”

“Maybe they’re just running a little behind today?” Keith offered, wanting to see Lance smile again. 

It sort of worked as a tiny smile flickered back to life on Lance’s lips before he sighed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to get so down. I’m just worried, ya know?”

Keith nodded, not sure what else to say. “I, uh…” Keith started then was immediately stopped as Lance threw him a wide grin. 

“But you’re here to learn, and I haven’t taught you anything yet,” Lance chirped, his hand waving over the board as he talked.

“It’s…okay,” Keith said slowly, not wanting to bring Lance’s mood down again, but also not feeling right by ignoring the issue. “Why don’t you tell me about,” Keith stopped to point a finger at Lance’s phone, “your opponents. How long have you been doing this?”

Keith’s eyes went wide as Lance’s smile brightened the room. Then the man started jabbering on about this and that, pointing at the picture that was still pulled up and reciting off first names and how good of a player they were. A tentative smile etched onto his lips as Keith listened, taking in as much information as his brain could process at a time. 

“I wish they were here because I’m sure they’re holding out on me,” Lance chuckled, a lop-sided grin still covering his face. “They’d probably be rooting for you and giving you pointers just so they could see me lose to the new guy.”

Keith let out his own chuckle, almost wishing he could meet these other characters. From the way Lance went on about them, it sounded like a fun group. “Well then let’s see if I can beat you without their help.”

Lance looked at Keith, wide-eyed for a moment then slowly grinned. “Ah-ha! You’re barking up the wrong tree if you think you can beat me, Keith.”

“Tell me the rules and show me how to play and we’ll see who wins,” Keith countered, with a small grin of his own, eager for a bit of competition. 

Sure he had never played, but that wouldn’t stop him from shying away or letting his nerves get the better of him. If he was going to learn and play, then he was going to win! So Lance went about telling him the names of pieces, how they could move, and pointers on which pieces should be protected at all cost. 

Keith absorbed all the information, his eyes and brain already assessing on how to move each piece and knowing that he would have to try to predict Lance’s moves when the game started. It was quite exhilarating, actually. He might have to apologize and thank Shiro later for setting this all up...well at least letting Keith know when to show up. 

“Alright, you ready for your first game?” Lance asked.

“As ready as I can be, I suppose.” Keith shrugged, glancing at Lance before eyeing the board and mapping out strategies, hyper-focused on the game and winning it. 

The game started, each taking their turn, Keith was taking a bit longer to decide on moves than Lance—who seemed to already know exactly how to counter. Of course that would make sense, seeing as how Lance had been playing for….

“How long have you playing, Lance?” Keith suddenly asked as he watched Lance quickly take a pawn. 

Lance looked up, mouth agape for a second before smiling. “Ever since I can remember. I have a large family, so someone always seemed to be playing at any gatherings we had.”

“Ah,” Keith said distractedly as he looked the board over for the best move. He touched a few pieces before finally settling on the one he wanted to move. 

This time Lance took a little longer making his move. “May I ask what you were studying for the last time I saw you?” He made his move then looked at Keith with a bit of curiosity in his blue eyes.

A half smile tipped his lips as Keith examined the board. “College course for astronomy.” Taking a quick glance at Lance, he continued, “I haven’t decided what I want to major in yet, but space interests me so I’m leaning in something in that direction.”

“Oh,” Lance said, a little surprised. “Space can be quite interesting. There’s a lot we don’t know about.” He tipped his head back to look at the ceiling. “Do ya think there are aliens out there?”

Keith curbed his laughter because once again he wasn’t meaning to laugh at Lance. “There has to be more than we already know. I wouldn’t count aliens out just yet.”

The wide grin was back on Lance’s face making Keith smile in return. The rest of the game was interspersed with theories, periods of silence, and just getting to know the other—like Keith learning that while Lance also enjoyed learning about space, he had decided on majoring in marine biology. The game seemed to keep getting drawn out as they chatted more and focused less, but then Lance was finally able to checkmate Keith’s king. 

“Good game,” Lance said as he stuck his hand over the board, waiting for Keith to shake it. 

“Yeah,” Keith muttered, a bit upset but refusing to be a sore loser as he gripped Lance’s warm hand. “Good game, but I demand a rematch.”

Lance chuckled. “Does that mean you’ll be joining our little group? Maybe next time the other guys will be here and they can teach you how to outmaneuver me.”

Keith was of the mind that he wanted some more one-on-one time with Lance, but he wouldn’t turn the invitation down. He had enjoyed the game, but he had lost and Keith couldn’t have that between them. No, he’d keep trying until he won against Lance. 

“I think you’ve recruited a new member,” Keith said as he placed his chess pieces back where they belonged. He was about to speak up and ask for another game when voices sounded at the door. 

“Good, good, you’re still here. We were afraid you would be gone by now.”

Lance stood up, walking toward the group of older gentlemen filing into the room. “I probably would have if Keith hadn’t shown up.” He glanced back at Keith, motioning for him to come over. 

Keith, hesitant, pushed himself up and approached the jovial group. Lance introduced him to everyone—some shaking hands while others opted for a nod of the head or a raised hand. Things settled down fairly quickly as the gentlemen took seats, pairing up at the boards and determined to get as much playing done with what time they had. 

Keith learned as much as he could from the other men while he had the chance, hoping he would be able to win against Lance during their next game. He asked questions and took his time studying the game he was playing. Tips and pointers were handed out freely, laughter ringing in the air as Lance pouted and complained. 

Then time was up. Boards and chess pieces were collected and put away properly and the room emptied except for Keith and Lance again. 

“Hey, thanks for sticking around,” Lance said, gathering a backpack Keith had apparently overlooked. “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself and I’ll be looking forward to our rematch, but don’t expect to win easily.”

Keith chuckled, grabbing his pack. “It was…an experience, but I’m glad I stopped by.” They headed toward the open the door together, and Keith couldn’t stop himself from asking, “Would you, uh, like to exchange numbers?” His hands gripped the straps of his backpack as he willed the heat to stop rising on his face. 

“Sure!” Lance pulled out his phone, asked for Keith’s number then sent him a text. “All good?”

Keith unpocketed his phone looking at the simple message then added the number to his contacts. “Thanks. I guess I’ll, uh, see you around.”

“Feel free to text me whenever. If you just wanna hang out outside of playing chess. If you need a break from studying or whatever, ya know?” Lance rattled off with a smile before leaving. 

Keith stood frozen, looking off in the direction Lance had gone. Then his phone buzzed in his hand and Keith’s heart jumped thinking it was Lance already texting him something else. Perhaps they could go get lunch and get to know each other better?

You’re welcome was followed by a cat-face emoji. Keith growled, gripping the phone in his hand and whipping his head around until he spotted an overly smug Shiro working at one of the staff computers. Apologizing to the man was out of the question now, but…Keith sighed. He’d have to thank Shiro for the help, even if Keith hadn’t wanted it in the first place.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments/critiques and kudos are always appreciated!


End file.
